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HOMESTEADS. 



THE REPUBLICANS AND SETTLERS 

AGAINST 

DEMOCRACY AND xMONOPOLY. 



THE EEOOED. 



As it has been the policy of the aristocratic 
party in all ages and countries to favor land 
monopoly as the means of securing power to' the 
few, so it has ever been the effort of those who 
wished to give and preserve power to the people 
to enable them to become proprietors, and se- 
cure them in their homes. It is not proposed in 
this paper to demonstrate the soundness of this 
policy, or to recount the efforts of patriots to 
establish it. Its wisdom and justice are now ac- 
cepted by all who favor popular government, 
and recognise Jefferson and Jackson as true ex- 
ponents of Republicanism. It is now proposed 
only to exhibit briefly, but authentically, the 
relations to this subject of the two great parties 
in the country, who, under the names of Repub- 
lican and Democratic, are contending for the 
control of the Government, that it may be seen 
which of these parties is worthy of the name it 
assumes. 

The action of the representatives of these 
parties during the two last sessions of Congress, 
upon the homestead law and the bill to prevent 
the sale of public lands for ten years after they 
are surveyed, except to actual settlers, furnishes 
aa unerring test of the policy of these parties on 
this subject, and demonstrates beyond cavil, 
that whilst the so-called Democratic party is 
false to its name, and favors "land monopoly and 
speculation, and is hostile to the settler, the 
iblican is true to its name and history, and 
opposes such monopoly and speculation, and 
cherishes the rights and interests of the settler. 

The Democracy had a large majority o the 
House of Representatives of the Thirty -fifth 
Congress, and on assembling in December, 1857, 
ejected as Speaker Mr. Orr, of South Carolina, 
a thorough partisan. On the 20th January, 
1859, (page 492*) the House having under con- 
sideration a bill relating to pre-emptions, Mr. 
Blair, of Missouri, offered as a substitute the 
homestead bill. The Speaker promptly ruled it 
out of order, and the House sustained him. Mr. 

* The references are to the Congressional Globe of the 
^va official report. 



Grow, of Pennsylvania, then moved to amend 
by adding the following as an additional section : 
"Be it fur/her enacted, That from and a.'.erthe 
1 passage of this act, no public land shall be ex- 
1 posed to sale by proclamation of the President, 
' unless the same shall have been surveyed, and 
* the return of such survey duly filed in the Land 
' Office, for ten years or more before such sale. M 
It was impossible to declare this out of order, 
and, seeing there was danger of its passing on a 
direct vote, it was attempted to give it the go- 
by by referring the bill and proposed amendment 
to the Committee of the Whole. The vote on 
the motion was as follows :fi 
Yeas, 90. 

Maine — Wood., 1 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut — Arnold, Bishop 2 

Rhode Island 

New York — Burroughs, Maclay, Russell, Taylor 4 

New Jersey — Wortendyke 1 

Pennsylvania — Ahl, Chapman, Dewert, Mont- 
gomery, Morris, Ritchie, White 7 

Delaware 

Maryland — Harris, Ricaud 2 

Virginia — Bocock, Caskie, Edmundson, Faulk- 
ner, Garnett, Millson, Powell 7 

North Carolina — Craige.Rumn,Scales,Wiuslow 4 
South Carolina — Boyce, Branch. Keitt, Mc- 
Queen, Miles 5 

Georgia — Crawford, Gartrell, Jack.30n, Seward, 

Stephens, Trippe, Wright 7 

Florida — Hawkins 1 

Alabama — Curry, Houston. Moore, Shorter... 4 

Mississippi — Barksdale, Davis, McRae 3 

Louisiana — Eustis, Sandidge, Taylor 3 

Tex?is — Bryan, Reagan 2 

Tennessee— Atkins, Jones, Maynard, Ready, 

Savage, Watkins, Zollicoffer 7 

Kentucky — Burnett, Jewett, Marshall, Pey- 
ton, Stevenson, Talbott, Underwood 7 

* The names of Democrats are printed in Roman, the Re 
publicans in Italics, and the South Americana in small ««»« 
itals. 



.*_** 



w 



Arkansas 

Missouri — Anderson, Caruthers, John B. Clark, 

James Craig, Phelps, Woodson 6 

Ohio- — Burns, Cockerill, Groesbeck, Harlan, 

Lawrence, Nichols, Pendleton, Vallandigham 8 
Indiana — Davis, English, Gregg, Hughes., Nib- 

lack 5 

Illinois — Marshall, Morris, Shaw, Smith 4 

Michigan 

Wisconsin , 

Iowa 

Minnesota ; 

California 

90 
Nays, 92. 

Maine — Foster, G'dman, Morse, Washburn 4 

New Hampshire — Cragin, Tappan „,... 2 

Vermont — Morrill, Roy ce, Walton... 3 

Massachusetts — Buffinton, Burlingame, Chaffee, 

Comins, Dawes. Hall, Knapp, Thayer 8 

Rhode Island — Br ay ton, Durfee 2 

Connecticut — Clark, Dean 2 

New York — Andrews, Clark, John Cochrane, 
Dodd, Fenton, Granger, Hatch, Hoard, Kel- 
»ey, Matteson, Morgan, Morse, Murray, Olin, 

Palmer, Parker, Spinner, Thompson. 18 

New Jersey — Claw son, Huyler 2 

Pennsylvania — Covode, Edie, Florence, Grow, 

Jones, Keim, Leidy, Purviance, Stewart 9 

Maryland — Bowie, Stewart 2 

Virginia — Goode, Hopkins 2 

North Carolina — Gilmer, Vance 2 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

lorida 

Alabama — Cobb, Dowdell, Staliworth 3 

Mississippi — Singleton 1 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio — Bingham, Bliss, Cox, Giddings, Hall, 
Letter, Mott, Sherman, Stanton, Tompkins, 

Wade 11 

Indiana — Colfax, Foley, Kilgore, Pettit, Wilson 5 
Illinois — Famsworth, Kellogg, Lovejoy, Wash- 

burne 4 

Missouri — Blair 1 

Michigan — Howard, Leach, Walbridge, Waldron 4 

Wisconsin — Potter, Washburn 2 

Iowa — Curtis, Davis..... 2 

California — Scott..., I 

Minnesota — Cavanaugh, Phelps 2 

92 
The motion to refer the bill to the Committee 
of the Whole having thus failed, the House was 
brought to a direct vote upon Mr. Grow's amend- 
ment, which was adopted by the following vote : 

Yeas 98. 
Maine — Foster, Gthnan, Morse, Washburn, Wood 5 

New Hampshire — Cragin, Pike, Tappan 3 

Vermont — M rrill, Royce, Walton 3 

Massachusetts — Buffinton, Burlingame, Chaffee, 
Comins, Davis, Dawes, Gooch, Hall, Knapp, 
Thayer .....a.'. 10 



' Rhode Island— Brayton, Durfee..... 2 

! Connecticut — Dean.... , I 

New York — Andrews, Bennett, Burroughs, 
Clark, John Cochrane, Dodd, Fenton, Gran- 
ger, Hoard, Kclsey, Matteson, Morgan, Morse, 
Murray, Olin, Palmer, Parker, Sherman, 

Spinner, Thompson ...20 

New Jersey — Robbins 1 

Pennsylvania — Chapman, Covode, Edie, Flor- 
ence, Grow, Keim, Morris, Phillips, Purviance, 

Ritchie, Stewart 11 

Delaware 

Maryland — Stewart . 1 

Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi. 

Louisiana 

Texas. , 

Arkansas 

Tennessee — Atkins, Avery, Jones, Savage 4 

Kentucky — Jewett, Stevenson, Talbott 3 

Ohio — Bingham, Bhss, Cockerill, Giddings, 
Harlan, Horton, Lawrence, Letter, Miller, 

Mott, Sherman, Stanton, Tompkins, Wade 14 

Indiana — Colfax, Kilgore, Pettit, Wilson 4 

Illinois — Famsworth, Kellogg, Lovejoy, Wash- 

burne..... 4 

Michigan — Howard, Leach, Walbridge, Waldron 4 
Wisconsin— Billinghurat, Potter, Washburn.... . 3 

Minnesota — Cavanaugh, Phelps 2 

Iowa — Curtis, Davis.. 2 

Missouri — Blair. , 1 

California 

Nays, 81 98 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island... 

Connecticut — Arnold 1 

New York — Russell, Searing, Taylor 3 

New Jersey— Huyler, Wortendyke * 2 

Pennsylvania — Ahl, Dewart, Leidy, Montgom- 
ery , 4 

Delaware — Whiteley 1 

Maryland — Bowie 1 

Virginia — Bocock, Caskie, Edmnndson, Gar- 

nett, Goode, Hopkins, Miilson, Powell.. 8 

North Carolina — Branch, Craige, Gilmer, Ruf- 

fin, Scales, Shaw, Vance, Winslow 8 

South Carolina — Bonham, Boyce, McQueen, 

Miles 4 

Georgia — Crawford, Gartrell, Jackson, Sew- 
ard, Stephens, Trippe, Wright... 7 

Florida — Hawkins '.* 1 

Alabama — Cobb, Curry, Dowdell, Houston, 

Moore, Shorter, Staliworth.., 7 

Mississippi — Davis, McRae, Singleton 3 

Louisiana — Eustis, Sandklge... 2 

Texas — Reagan 1 

Arkansas 

Tennessee — Maynard, Ready, Smith, Walking, . 

ZOLLICOFFER ,., 5 



I 



Kentucky — Burnett, Elliott, Underwood 3 

Ohio — Burns, Cox, Hall, Pendleton, Vallandig- 

ham 5 

Indiana— Davis, Foley, Gregg, Hughes 4 

Illinois — Hodges, Marshall, Shaw, Smith 4 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri — Anderson, Caruthers, Clark, Craig, 

Phelps, Woodson 6 

California — Scott 1 

81 

Upon the adoption of Mr. Grow's amendment, 
the Republican vote, a3 will be seen, was unani- 
mously in the affirmative. Of the votes from the 
slave States, all but nine were in the negative, 
and, as we shall presently see, there was only 
one of that number who was really in favor of 
it, this one being Mr. Blair, of Missouri. 

Mr. Grow's amendment being incorporated into 
the bill, the next question was upon the passage 
of the bill, which was defeated by the following 

vote: Yeas, 91. 

Maine — Foster, Morse, Washburn, Wood. 4 

New Hampshire — Cragin, Pike, Tappan 3 

Vermont — Morrill, Roy ce, Walton 3 

Massachusetts — Buffinlon, Burling ame, Chaffee, 
Comins, Davis, Daioes, Gooch, Hall, Knupp, 

Thayer 10 

Rhode Island — Bray ten, Durfee.... 2 

Connecticut — Clark, Dean 2 

New York — Andrews, Bennett, Burroughs, Clark, 
C. B. Cochrane, John Cochrane, Dodd, Fen- 
ton, Granger, Hatch, Hoard, Kelsey, Matteson, 
Morgan, Morse, Murray, Olin, Palmer, Parker, 

Spinner, Thompson 21 

New Jersey — Clawson, Bobbins 2 

Pennsylvania — Covode, Dick, Edie, Grow,Keim, 

Morris, Purviance, Ritchie, Stewart 9 

Delaware 

Maryland — Davis 1 

Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio — Bingham, Bliss, Cox, Giddings, Hall, 
Harlan, Horion, Leiter, Miller, Mott, Sher- 
man, Stanton, Tompkins, Wade 14 

Michigan — Howard, Leach, Walbridge, Waldron 4 

Indiana — Colfax, Kilgore, Pettit, Wilson 4 

Illinois — Farnsworth, Kellogg, Lovejoy, Morris, 

Washburne 5 

Wisconsin — Potter, Washburn., 2 

Iowa — Curtis, Davis 2 

Minnesota — Cavanaugh, Phelps 2 

Missouri — Blair 1 

California 

91 



Nays, 95. 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut — Arnold 1 

New York — Corning, Russell, Searing, Taylor 4 

New Jersey — Huyler 1 

Pennsylvania — Ahl, Chapman, Dewart, Flor- 
ence, Jones, Leidy, Montgomery, Phillips, 

White 9 

Delaware — Whiteley 1 

Maryland — Bowie, Ricaud, Stewart 3 

Virginia — Bocock, Caskie, Edmundson, Gar- 

nett, Goode, Hopkins, Millson, Powell 8 

North Carolina — Craige, Gilmer, Ruffin, Scales, 

Shaw, Vance, Winslow 1 7 

South Carolina — Bonham, Boyce, McQueen... 3 
Georgia — Crawford, Gartrell, Jackson, Ste- 
phens, Trippe, Wright 6 

Florida — Hawkins 1 

Alabama — Cobb, Dowdell, Houston, Moore, 

Shorter, Stallworth 6 

Mississippi — Barksdale, Davis, McRae, Single- 
ton 4 

Louisiana — Sandidge, Taylor 2 

Texas — Bryan, Reagan 2 

Arkansas — Greenwood 1 

Tennessee — Atkins, Avery, Jones, Maynard, 
Ready, Savage, Smith, Watkins, Zollicof- 

per 9 

Kentucky — Burnett, Clay, Elliott, Jewett, Mar- 
shall, Mason, Peyton, Stevenson, Talbott, 

Underwood io 

Ohio — Burns, Cockerill, Groesbeck, Pendleton, 

Vallandigham 5 

Indiana — Davis, Foley, Gregg, Hughes 4 

Illinois — Marshall, Shaw 2 

Michigan o 

Wisconsin „ o 

Iowa o 

Missouri — Anderson, Caruthers, Clark, Craig, 

Phelps, Woodson 6 

Minnesota o 

California o 

95 
The defeat of the bill, in consequence of the 
incorporation into it of Mr. Grow's amendment, 
shows that A majority of the House was really 
opposed to that amendment, although it had 
been adopted by a vote of 98 to 81. Certain 
members, who did not dare to vote directly 
against the amendment, joined in killing it after- 
wards, by killing the bill, of which it had been 
made a part by their own votes. 

Thus Messrs. Stewart of Maryland, Atkins, 
Avery, Jones, and Savage, of Tennessee, and 
Jewett, Stevenson, and Talbott, of Kentucky, who 
had voted for the amendment, voted afterwards 
against the bill. Only one, Mr. Blair, of the 
nine Southern supporters of the amendment, 
proved true to it in the end, and no other South- 
ern member came to its support in the final vote, 
saving only Mr. Davis of Maryland, who repre- 
sents the free- labor interests of the city of Balti- 
more, 



On the first of February, the homestead bill, 
in substance the House bill hereinafter inserted 
in full, came up for consideration, and after the 
usual dilatory proceedings resorted to by the De- 
mocracy to prevent action, of moving to lay on 
the table, &c, was passed by the following vote : 

Yeas, 120. 
Maine — Abbott, Foster, Oilman, Morse, Wash- 
burn.. 5 

New Hampshire — Cragin, Pike, Tappan 3 

Vermont — Morrill, Royce, Walton 3 

Massachusetts — Buffinton, Burlingame, Chaffee, 
Comins, Davis, Dawes, Gooch, Hall, Knapp, 

Thayer 10 

Rhode Island — Br ay ton, Durfee 2 

Connecticut — Bishop, Clark, Dean 3 

New York — Andrews, Barr, Burroughs, C. B. 
Cochrane, John Cochrane, Corning, Dodd, 
Fenton, Goodwin, Granger, Haskin, Hatch, 
Hoard, Kelsey, Maclay, Matteson, Morgan, 
Morse, Murray, Olin, Palmer, Parker, Pottle, 

Russell, Spinner, Taylor, Ward ......27 

New Jersey — Adrain, Clawson, Bobbins, Wor- 

tendyke 4 

Pennsylvania — Covode, Dick, Florence, Grow, 
Hickman, Keim, Morris, Phillips, Purviance, 

Reilly, Roberts, Stewart, Kunkel 13 

Delaware. 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Tennessee— Jones 1 

Kentucky — Jewett 1 

Ohio — Bingham, Bliss, Burns, Cockerill, Cox, 
Giddings, Groesbeck, Hall, Harlan, Horton, 
Lawrence, Leiter, Miller, Pendleton, Sherman, 

Stanton, Tompkins, Vallandigham, Wade 19 

Indiana — Case, Colfax, Davis, Foley, Gregg, 

KUgore, Pettit, Wilson 8 

Illinois — Farnsworth, Hodges, Kellogg, Lovejoy, 

Morris, Smith, Washburne 7 

Michigan — Howard, Leach, Walbridge, Waldron 4 

Wisconsin — Billinghurst, Potter, Washburn 3 

Minnesota — Cavanaugh, Phelps 2 

Iowa — Curtis, Davis 2 

Missouri — Craig 1 

California— McKibbin, Scott 2 



120 



Nats, 76. 



Maine. 





New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania, — Leidy 1 



Delaware — Whiteley.. 1 

Maryland — Bowie, Davis, Harris, Kunkel, 

Ricaud, Stewart 6 

Virginia — Bocock, Caskie, Edmundson, Faulk- 
ner, Garnett, Goode, Hopkins, Jenkins, 

Letcher, Millson, Smith 11 

North Carolina — Branch, Craige, Gilmer, Ruf- 

fin, Scales, Shaw, Vance, Winslow 8 

South Carolina — Bonham, Boyce, Keitt, Mc- 
Queen, Miles 5 

Georgia — Crawford, Gartrell, Hill, Jackson, 

Seward, Stephens, Trippe, Wright 8 

Florida 

Alabama — Cobb, Curry, Dowdell, Houston, 

Moore, Shorter, Stallworth 7 

Mississippi — Barksdale, Lamar, McRae, Single- 
ton 4 

Louisiana — Eustis 1 

Texas — Reagan. 1 

Arkansas — Greenwood 1 

Tennessee — Atkins, Avery, Maynard, Ready, 

Smith, Watkins, Wright, Zollicopper 8 

Kentucky — Burnett, Marshall, Mason, Peyton, 

Underwood 5 

Ohio — Nichols 1 

Indiana — English, Hughes, Niblack 3 

Illinois — Marshall, Shaw 2 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri — Anderson, Clark, Woodson - 3 

California 

76 

Only three Southern members, Jones of Ten- 
nessee, Jewett of Kentucky, and Craig of Mis- 
souri, voted for the bill, thereby marking unmis- 
takably the sectional character of the opposi- 
tion to it. 

The Republican vote, with a solitary excep- 
tion, was given solid for the bill. 

Of the entire Democratic vote in the House, a 
large majority was against the bill^ but even thi3 
is less important than the other fact, that the 
Southern wing of the party was almost unani- 
mously against, it being this Southern wing 
which controls. 

The bill had yet to encounter the more dan- 
gerous ordeal of the Senate, in which the Demo- 
cratic majority was larger, where the Southern 
managers would not permit a vote. 

On the 17th day of February, Mr. Wade, of 
Ohio, (page ft) 74,) moved to postpone all prior 
orders, and take up the homestead bill, which 
had passed the House. The following extracts 
from the debate upon this motion will exhibit 
the points made : 

" Mr. Wade. The homestead bill, to which I 
1 am a good deal attached, has, I believe, twice 
' passed the House and come to this body, but 
' somehow it has had the go-by, and we have 
' never had a direct vote upon it here that I 
' know of. I do not propose to discuss it for a 
' single moment, and I hope none of its friends 
' will debate it, because it has been pending be- 
1 fore Congress for several years, and I presume 
1 every Senator is perfectly well acquainted with 



5 



1 all its provisions, and has made up his mind as 
4 to the course he will pursue in regard to it. I 
' have no hope that anything I could say would 

• win any opponent of the bill to its support; 

• and I hope every friend of the measure will 
1 take no time in debate, but will try to get a 
4 vote upon it, for I think it is the great measure 
1 of the session. All I want, all I ask, is to have 
4 a vote upon it. 

44 Mr, Reid, of North Carolina. I think it is 
4 too late in the session now to take up this bill 
4 to be acted upon here, at least until we act 
4 upon other great measures upon which there 
4 is more unanimity of sentiment in the country, 
4 and a higher sense of duty upon us to pass 
4 them during the few days of the season thatre- 
1 main. 

41 Mr. Hunter, of Virginia. I believe that a 
4 fortnight from to-day will take us to the 3d of 
' March. Now, it is known that we have nearly 

• all the important appropriation bills, and one 
4 that is unfinished, to take up. I hope there 
4 will be no effort to press this homestead bill, 
4 so as to displace the appropriation bills. I 
1 must appeal to the Senate to consider how little 
4 of the session is now left to us, and whether we 
1 ought not to take up the appropriation bill and 
4 dispose of it. 

M Mr. Shields, of Minnesota. The friends of 
4 this bill desire nothing but a vote upon it, not 
4 to waste time in debate. Let us take it up, 
1 and have a fair vote upon it. 

M Mr. Hunter. I do not conceal the fact that 

• I am very much opposed to it; but I suppose, 

• whenever this bill comes up, it must be the sub- 
1 ject of debate. 

44 Mr. Wilson, of Massachusetts. I appreciate 
4 the anxiety of the Senator from Viiginia to take 
4 up the appropriation bill ; but I would suggest 
4 to that Senator that he allow us to take up this 
4 bill, and have a vote upon it. I do not eup- 
4 pose that anybody, who is in favor of the 
4 measure, desires to consume the time of the 
4 Senate, at this stage of the session, by discuss- 
4 ing it. It has been discussed before the nation. 
4 It is well understood. I believe it is sustained 
4 by an overwhelming majority of the people of 
4 the country, 

44 Mr. Wade. I have no doubt, from the busi- 
4 ness before us, that this is the last opportunity 
4 we shall have to act upon this great measure. 
4 1 hope, as I said before, every friend of it will 
4 stand by it until it is either triumphant or de- 
4 feated, and that, too, in preference to any other 
4 business that may be urged upon us. As to 
4 the appropriation bills, I have not the least fear 
4 but that they will go through. Their gravita- 
4 tion carries them through." 

The question was then taken, and Mr. Wade's 
motion was carried by the following vote, the 
Republicans being indicated by Italics : 

Yeas — Messrs. Bright, Broderick, Chandler, 
Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, 
Gwin, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Johnson of Tennes- 
see, King, Pugh, Rice, Seward, Shields, Simmons, 
Smith, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade, and Wihon — 26. 

Nays — Messrs. Allen, Bayard, Benjamin, Bigler, 
Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, 
Fitzpatrick, Green, Hammond, Hunter, Iverson, 



Lane, Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Reid, Slidell, 
Toombs, and Ward— 23. 

Upon an examination of this vote, it will be 
seen that the Republicans voted unanimously in 
the affirmative, and that the Southern Senators 
were all in the negative, with the solitary excep- 
tion of Mr. Johnson, of Tennessee. 

Of the Northern Democrats, Gwin, Bright, 
Pugh, Rice, Shields, Smith, and Stuart, all being 
from the new States, voted for Mr. Wade's mo- 
tion. The homestead bill was now up, and, so 
far as its friends were concerned, nothing was 
asked but a vote, which would not have con- 
sumed ten minutes. But a vote was precisely 
what the Southern managers were determined 
to avoid. 

Instantly, therefore, upon the announcement 
of the success of Mr. Wade's motion, which 
brought the bill before the Senate, Mr. Hunter 
took the floor, and moved that it be set aside, so 
as to take up another bill, viz : the diplomatic 
and consular appropriation bill. 

No question of order was raised upon this mo- 
tion of Mr. Hunter, but it was well characterized 
as 4t child's play," to move to set aside a bill, in- 
stantly after a vote to take it up. 

Pending some conversational debate upon Mr. 
Hunter's motion, the hour of twelve o'clock ar- 
rived, and the Vice President decided that the 
Cuba bill, having been assigned for that hour, was 
the subject pending before the Senate. 

Hereupon, Mr. Wade moved to postpone the 
twelve o'clock order, and continue the consider- 
ation of the homestead bill, and this motion pre- 
vailed by the following vote : 

Yeas — Messrs. Bell, Bright, Broderick, Chan- 
dler, Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, 
Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, 
Harlan, Johnson of Tennessee, King, Pugh, Rice, 
Seward, Simmons, Smith, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade, 
and Wilson — 21. 

Nays — Messrs. Allen, Bates, Benjamin, Bigler, 
Brown, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, 
Green, Gwin, Hammond, Hunter, Iverson, John- 
son of Arkansas, Lane, Mallory, Mason, Pearce, 
Reid, Sebastian, Slidell, Toombs, Ward, and 
Yulee— 26. 

On this vote, an additional Southern Senator, 
Mr. Bell of Tennessee, ranged himself on the side 
of homesteads. But this was offset by the rat- 
ting back to the negative side of Mr. Gwin. 

The homestead bill was now again before the 
Senate, but the question, as stated by the Vice 
President, was still upon Mr. Hunter's motion to 
set it aside, and take up the consular and diplo- 
matic appropriation bill. 

Mr. Mason, of Virginia, threatened an il extend- 
ed debate " upon the homestead bill, if its con- 
sideration was insisted upon. He declared, at 
any rate, for himself, that he intended to "go 
4 into it pretty largely, because he had not yet known 
4 a bill so fraught with mischief, and mischief of the 
4 most demoralizing kind." 

Mr. Wade and Mr. Seward, in brief and ener- 
getic terms, exhorted the friends of the bill to 
stand firm. 

The vote was then taken upon Mr. Hunter's 
motion, and resulted as follows : 
Yeas — Messrs. Allen, Bates, Bayard, Benjamin, 



6 



Bigler, Brown, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitch, 
Fitzpatrick, Green, Gwin, Hammond, Hunter, 
Iverson, Johnson of Arkansas, Kennedy, Lane, 
Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Reid, Sebastain, Slidell, 
Toombs, Ward, and Yulee— 28. 

Nays — Messrs. Bell, Bright, Broderick, Chan- 
dlery Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, 
Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, 
Harlan, Houston, Johnson of Tennessee, King, 
Pugh, Rice, Seward, Simmons, Smith, Stuart, 
Trumbull, Wade, and Wilson — 28. 

The vote being a tie, the Vice President, Mr. 
Breckinridge, voted in the affirmative, and thus, 
after a long struggle, the homestead bill was, for 
that day, overslaughed. 

Of the twenty-eight votes for overslaughing 
it, all but five are from the South. 

Of the twenty-eight votes in favor of sustain- 
ing the bill, only three are from the South, and 
of these three, only one, Mr. Johnson of Tennes- 
see, has any affiliation with what is called the 
Democratic party. 

Two days afterwards, on the 19th of February, 
Mr. Wade again moved to set aside all prior 
orders and take up the homestead bill, but this 
motion was negatived by the following vote : 

Yeas — Messrs. Broderick, Chandler, Clark, Col- 
lamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Durkee, Fessenden, Foot, 
Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Johnson of Tennessee, 
Jones, King, Pugh, Rice, Seward, Shields, Sim- 
mons, Stuart, Trumbull, Wade, and Wilson — 24. 

Nays — Messrs. Allen, Bates, Bayard, Benjamin, 
Bigler, Bright, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, 
Crittenden, Davis, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Green, 
Hammond, Houston, Hunter, Iverson, Kennedy, 
Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Polk, Reid, Sebastian, 
Slidell, Smith, Toombs, Ward, and Yulee— 31. 

Upon the 25th day of February, upon the oc- 
casion of a motion by Mr. Slidell to postpone all 
prior orders and take up the bill for the purchase 
of Cuba, Mr. Doolittle resisted it, and called upon 
the friends of homesteads to vote it down, so 
that he himself might submit a motion to take 
up the homestead bill. 

The vote was then taken, and the motion to 
take up the Cuba bill prevailed, as follows : 

Yeas — Messrs. Allen, Bayard, Bell, Benjamin, 
Bigler, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, Davis, 
Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Green, Gwin, Hammond, 
Houston, Hunter, Iverson, Jones, Lane, Mallory, 
Mason, Polk, Pugh, Reid, Rice, Sebastian, 
Shields, Slidell, Smith, Stuart, Toombs, Ward, 
Wright, and Yulee — 35. 

Nays — Messrs. Broderick, Cameron, Chandler, 
Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Douglas, Dur- 
kee, Fessenden, Foot, Foster, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, 
Johnson of Tennessee, Kennedy, King, Pearce, 
Seward, Simmons, Trumbull, Wade, and Wil- 
son — 24. 

The Cuba bill was now up, and the discus- 
sion upon it protracted the session late into the 
night, and almost into the next morning. 

At ten o'clock in the evening, Mr. Doolittle 
felt it to be his duty to renew the attempt to set 
aside the Cuba bill, the subject-matter of a man- 
ifestly idle debate, so as to take up the home- 
stead bill. His motion to that effect, and the 
commencement of the debate upon it, will be 



found on page 1351 of the Congressional Globe. 
Such extracts are made as will exhibit its gen- 
eral character: 

" Mr. Trumbull. If there was any assurance 
' that the homestead bill could be taken up, after 

* the Cuba question was disposed of, I should be 
' willing to see it have the go-by on the present 
' occasion ; but we have sought repeatedly to 
' bring up the homestead bill, and every move- 
' ment that has been made to bring it up has 

* been met with a counter movement, crowding 
' it out of the way with something else. * * * 

" Mr. Seward. After nine hours yielding to the 
' discussion of the Cuba question, it is time to come 
' back to the great question of the day and the 
' age. The Senate may as well meet face to face 
i the issue which is before them. It is an issue 
' presented by the competition between these two 
' questions. One, the homestead bill, is a ques- 
' tion of homes, of lands for the landless freemen 
! of the United States. The Cuba bill is the ques- 
1 tion of slaves for the slaveholders of the United 
' States. 

Mr. Toombs resisted the motion, and denounc- 
ed the measure as a bill to give lands to the 
lacklanders. 

" Mr. Wadb. I am very glad that this ques- 
1 tion has at length come up. I am glad, too, 
' that it has antagonized with this nigger ques- 
' tion. [Laughter.] I have been trying here for 
' nearly a month to get a straight-forward vote 
' upon this great measure of land for the land- 
1 less. I glory in that measure. It is the great- 
1 est that has ever come before the American 
' Senate, and it has now come so that there is no 
' dodging it. The question will be, shall we give 
' niggers to the niggerless, or lands to the land- 
1 lesrf. 

" I moved some days ago to take up this sub- 
' ject. It was said then that there was an ap- 
' propriation bill that stood in the way. The 
' Senator from Virginia had his appropriation 
' bills. Tt was important, then, that they should 
1 be settled at once ; there was danger that they 
' would be lost, and the Government would stop 
' in consequence ; and the appeal was made to 
' gentlemen to give this bill the go-by for the 
' time being, at all events, and the appeal was 
1 successful. The appropriation bills lie very easy 
' now behind this nigger operation. [Laughter.] 

* When you come to niggers for the niggerless, 
' all other questions sink into insignificance." 

Mr. Doolittle's motion, to set aside the Cuba 
bill for the purpose of taking up the homestead 
bill, was lost, by the following vote: 

Yeas — Messrs. Broderick, Cameron, Clark, 
Chandler, Collamer, Doolittle, Fessenden, Foot, Fos- 
ter, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Johnson of Tennessee, 
King, Seward, Simmons, Trumbull, Wade, and 
Wilson— 19. 

Nays — Messrs. Allen, Benjamin, Bayard, Big- 
ler, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, Douglas, 
Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Green, Gwin, Hunter, Iverson, 
Johnson of Arkansas, Lane, Mallory, Mason, Polk, 
Pugh, Reid, Rice, Sebastian Shields, Slidell, 
Toombs, Ward, and Wright— 29. 

This was the last of the homestead bill at the 
session of 1858-9. Almost as soon as the House 



wag organized at the last session, Mr. Grow, of 
Pennsylvania, presented the bill known as 

THE HOUSE BILL, 
which was referred to the Committee on Agri- 
culture, and which provided as follows : 

" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
' tentative^ of the United States of America in Con- 
1 press assembled, That any person who i3 the 
1 head of a family, or who has arrived at the age 
1 of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the 
{ United States, or who shall have filed his in- 
1 teution to become such, as required by the nat- 
' uralization laws of the United States, shall, 
1 from and after the passage of this act, be en- 
'. titled to enter, free of cost, one hundred and 
1 sixty acres of unappropriated public lands, upon 

* which said person may have filed a pre-emp- 
1 tion claim, or which may, at the time the ap- 
' plication is made, be subject to pre-emption at 
1 one dollar and twenty-five cents, or less, per 
' acre ; or eighty acres of such unappropriated 
' lands, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre ; to 

* be located in a body, in conformity to the legal 
' subdivisions of the public lands, and after the 

* same shall have been surveyed. 

"Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That the 
1 person applying for the benefit of this act shall, 
' upon application to the register of the land of- 
' fice in which he or she is about to make such 
1 entry, make affidavit before the said register or 
' receiver that he or she is the head of a family, 
' or is twenty -one years or more of age, and that 
1 such application is made for bis or her exclu- 
1 sive use and benefit, and those specially men- 
' tioned in this act, and not either directly or in- 
' directly for the use or benefit of any other per- 
l . son or persons whomsoever ; and upon filing 
' the affidavit with the register or receiver, he or 
1 she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the 

* quantity of land specified : Provided, however, 
1 That no certificate shall be given or patent issued 
( therefor until the expiration of five years from 
' the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration 
' of 3uch time, or at any time within two years 
4 thereafter, the person making such entry— or if 
' he be dead, his widow ; or in case of her death, 
' his heirs or devisee ; or in case of a widow ma- 

* king such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of 
' her death — shall prove by two credible wit- 
' nesses that he, she, or they, have resided upon 
' and cultivated the same for the term of five 
1 years immediately succeeding the time of filing 
' the affidavit aforesaid, then, in such case, he, she, 
1 or they, if at that time a citizen of the United 
' States, shall, on payment of ten dollars, be en- 
' titled to a patent, as in other cases provided for 
'bylaw: And provided, further, That in case of 

* the death of both father and mother, leaving an 
' infant child, or children, under twenty-one 
' years of age, the right and fee shall enure to 
1 the benefit of said infant child or children ; and 
1 the executor, administrator, or guardian, may, 
' at any time within two years after the death 
1 of the surviving parent, and in accordance with 
1 the laws of the State in which such children 
{ for the time being have their domicil, sell said 
' land for the benefit of said infants, but for no 
' other purpose ; and the purchaser shall acquire 



the absolute title by the purchase, and be en- 
titled to a patent from the United States, on 
payment of the office fees and sum of money 
herein specified. 

" Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the 
register of the land office shall note all suck 
applications on the tract-books and plats of his 
office, and keep a register of all such entries, 
and make return thereof to the General Land 
Office, together with the proof upon which they 
have been founded. 
" Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all 
lands acquired under the provisions of this act 
shall in no event become liable to the satisfac- 
tion of any debt or debts contracted prior to the 
issuing of the patent therefor. 
" Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, at 
any time after the filing of the affidavit, as re- 
quired in the second section of this act, and 
before the expiration of the five years aforesaid, 
it shall be proven, after due notice to the set- 
tler, to the satisfaction of the register of the 
land office, that the person having filed such 
affidavit shall have actually changed his or her 
residence, or abandoned the said entry for more 
than six months at any time, then, and in that 
event, the land so entered shall revert to th« 
Government. 

" Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That no in- 
dividual shall be permitted to make more than 
one entry under the provisions of this act; and 
that the Commissioner of the General Land Of- 
fice is hereby required to prepare and issue 
such rules and regulations, consistent with this 
act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry 
its provisions into effect; and that the registers 
and receivers of the several land offices shall 
be entitled to receive the same compensation 
for any lands entered under the provisions of 
this act that they are now entitled to receive 
when the same quantity of land is entered with 
money, one half to be paid by the person ma- 
king the application at the time of so doing, 
and the other half on the issue of the certificate 
by the person to whom it may be issued ; Pro- 
vided, That nothing contained in this act shall 
be so construed as to impair or interfere ia 
any manner whatever with existing pre-emp? 
tion rights : And provided, further, That all 
persons who may have filed their applications 
for a pre-emption right prior to the passage of 
this act shall be entitled to all privileges of this 
act." 

The same bill, which was presented a few days 
afterwards by Mr. Aldrich, of Minnesota, was 
referred to the Gommittee on Public Lands, and 
Mr. Lovejoy promptly reported it from that com- 
mittee, and on the 12 th March it passed the House 
by the following vote j 

Yeas — Messrs. Adrain, Aldrich, Ashley, Bab- 
bitt, Barr, Bingham, Blake, Brigcs, Bufjinton, 
Burch, Burnham, Campbell, Carey, Carter, Case, 
John Cochrane, Colfax, Conklin, Cooper, Corwin, 
Covode, Cox, James Craig, Curtis, John G. Davis, 
Dawes, Delano, Duell, Dunn, Edgerton, Eliot, Eng- 
lish, Fenton, Ferry, Florence, Foster, Fouke, Frank, 
French, Gooch, Graham, Grow, Gurley, Hale, Hall, 
Haskin, Helmick, Hickm&n, Hoard ) Holrnan, How* 



8 



ard, Humphrey, Hutchins, Junkin, Francis W. 
Kellogg, Kilgore, Killinger, Larrabee, De Witt C. 
Leach, Lee, Logan, Loomis, Lovejoy, Maclay, 
Marston, Charles D. Martin, McClernand, Mc- 
Kean, McKnight, McPherson, Millward, Morrill, 
Edward Joy Morris, Morse, Niblack, Olin, Pendle- 
ton, Perry, Porter, Potter, Pottle, Rice, Riggs, 
Christopher Robinson, James C. Robinson, Royce 
Schwartz, Scott, Scranton, Sherman, Sickles, Somes, 
Spinner, Stanton, Stout, Stratton, Tappan, Thayer, 
Tompkins, Train, Trimble, Vallandigham, Vandever, 
Van Wyck, Verree, Waldron, Walton, Cadwalader 
C. Washburn, Ellihu B. Washburne, Israel Wash- 
bwn, , Wells, Wilson, Windom, and Woodruff— 115. 
Nays — Messrs. Green Adams, Thomas L. An- 
derson, William C. Anderson, Avery, Barksdale, 
Bocock, Bonham, Brabson, Branch, Bristow, 
Burnett, Clopton, Cobb, Curry, H. Winter Da- 
vis, Reuben Davis, De Jarnette, Edmundson, 
Btheridge, Garnett, Gartrell, Gilmer, Hamilton, 
Hardeman, J. Morrison Harris, Hatton, Hill, 
Hindman, Houston, Hughes, Jackson, Jenkins, 
Jones, Keitt, Lamar, Landrum, Leake, Love, 
Mallory, Elbert S. Martin, Maynard, McQueen, 
McRea, Miles, Millson, Montgomery, Sydenham 
Moore, Nelson, Noell, Peyton, Pryor, Pugh, 
Reagan, Ruffin, Simms, Singleton, William 
Smith, William N. H. Smith, Stevenson, Stokes, 
Underwood, Vance Webster, Whiteley, Wood- 
son, and Wright— 65. 

The bill was antagonized in the Senate by a 
bill with the same title, but which had none of 
the essential features of a homestead law, and 
many of the Democratic Senators declared that 
it was because it was not a homestead law that 
tbey were enabled to vote for it. See remarks 
of Mr. Davis, page 2043 ; and of Mr. Green, 1991. 

The bill known as 

THE SENATE BILL 
is as follows : 

' : A Bill to secure homesteads to actual se'tlers on the pub- 
lic domain and for other purposes 

" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 
1 resentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
■ l gress assembled, That any person who is the 
1 feead of a family, and a citizen of the United 
4 States, shall, from and after the passage of this 
4 act, be entitled to enter one quarter section of va- 
' cant and unappropriated public lands, or any less 
4 quantity, to be located in a body, in conformity 
4 with the legal subdivisions of the public lands, 
' and after the same shall have been surveyed 
' and become subject to private entry, upon the 
4 following conditions : That the person apply - 
4 ing for the benefit of this act shall, upon ap- 
4 plication to the register of the land office in 
4 which he or she is about to make such entry, 
4 make affidavit, before the said register, that he 
4 or she is the head of a family, and is actually 
' settled on the quarter section or other subdi- 

* visions not exceeding a quarter section, pro- 
4 posed to be entered, and that such application 
1 is made for his or her use and benefit, or for 
4 the use and benefit of those specially men- 
1 tioned in this section, and not either directly 

* or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other 
{ person, or persons whomsoever; and that he or 



she has never, at any previous time, had the 
benefit of this act ; and upon making the affi- 
davit as above required, and filing the same 
with the register, he or she shall thereupon be 
permitted to enter the quantity of land already 
specified : Provided, however, That no final cer- 
tificate shall be given, or patent issued there- 
for, until the expiration of five years from the 
date of such entry ; and if, at the expiration of 
such time, the person making such entry, or, if 
he be dead, his widow, or, in case of her death, 
his child or children, or, in case of a widow 
making such entry, her child or children, in 
case of her death, shall prove by two credible 
witnesses that he, she, or they— that is to say, 
some member or members of the same fam- 
ily — has or have erected a dwelling-house 
upon said land, and continued to reside upon 
and cultivate the same for the term of five 
years, and still reside upon the same, (and that 
neither the said land nor any part thereof has 
been alienated ;) then, in such case, he, she, or 
they, upon the payment of twenty-five cents 
per acre for the quantity entered, shall be enti- 
tled to a patent, as in other cases provided by 
law : And provided, fur her, In case of the death 
of both father and mother, leaving a minor 
child or children, the right and the fee shall 
inure to the benefit of said minor child or 
children, and the guardian shall be authorized 
to perfect the entry for the beneficiaries, as if 
there had been a continued residence of the 
settler for five years. 

44 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the 
register of the land office shall note all such 
applications on the tract books and plats of his 
office, and keep a register of all such entries, 
and make return thereof to the General Land 
Office, together with the proof upon which they 
have been founded. 

44 Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That no land 
acquired under the provisions of this act shall, 
in any event, become liable to the satisfaction 
of any debt or debts until after the issuing of 
the patent therefor. 

44 Sec 4. And be it farther enacted, That if, at 
any time after filing the affidavit, as required in 
the first section of this act, and before the ex- 
piration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be 
proved, after due notice to the settler, to the 
satisfaction of the register of the land office, 
that the person having filed such affidavit shall 
have sworn falsely in any particular, or shall 
have voluntarily abandoned the possession 
and cultivation of the said land for more than 
six months at any time, or sold his right under 
the entry, then, and in either of those events, 
the register shall cancel the entry, and the 
land so entered shall revert to the Government, 
and be disposed of as other public lands are 
now by law, subject to an appeal to the Secre- 
tary of the Interior. And in no case shall any 
land, the entry whereof shall have been can- 
celled, again be subject to occupation, or entry, 
or purchase, until the same shall have been re- 
ported to the General Land Office, and, by the 
direction of the President of the United States, 
again advertised and offered at public sale. 



" Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any 
4 person, now, or hereafter, a resident of any 
1 one of the States or Territories, and not a citi- 
1 zen of the United States, but who, at the time 
' of making such application for the bene6t of 
1 this a^t, shall have filed a declaration of inten- 
1 tion, as required by the naturalization laws of 
' the United States, and shall have become a 
4 citizen of the same before the issuing of the 
4 patent, as provided for in this act, such person 
1 shall be entitled to all the rights conferred by 
' this act. 

44 Sec 6. And be it further enacted, That no in- 
1 dividual shall be permitted to enter more than 
4 one quarter section, or fractional quarter sec- 
' tion, and that in a compact body ; but entries 

* may be made at different times, under the pro- 
1 visions of this act ; and that the Secretary of 
4 the Interior is hereby required to prepare and 
1 issue, from time to time, such rules and regu- 
1 lations, consistent with this act, as shall be 
4 necessary and proper to carry its provisions 
4 into effect; and that the registers and receivers 
4 of the several land offices shall be entitled to 
1 receive, upon the filing of the first affidavit, the 
1 sum of fifty cents each, and a like sum upon 
1 the issuing of the final certificate. But this 
1 shall not be construed to enlarge the maximum 
' of compensation now prescribed by law fcr any 
1 register or receiver : Provided, That nothing in 
4 this act shall be so construed as to impair the 
4 existing pre-emption, donation, or graduation 
4 laws, or to embrace lands which have been re- 
1 served to be sold or entered at the price of two 
1 dollars and fifty cents per acre ; but no entry, 

* under said graduation act, shall be allowed 

* until after proof of actual settlement and culti- 
4 vation or occupancy for at least three months, 

* as provided for in section three of the said act. 

Sec 7. And be it further enacted, That each 
' actual settler upon lands of the United States 
1 which have not been offered at public sale, 
1 upon filing his declaration or claim, as now re- 
1 quired by law, shall be entitled to two years 
1 from the commencement of his occupation or 

* settlement, or, if the lands have not been sur- 
1 veyed, two years from the receipt of the ap- 
1 proved plat of such lands at the district land 

* office, within which to complete the proofs of 
1 his said claim, and to enter and pay for the 
1 land so claimed, at minimum price of such 

* lands ; and where such settlements have al- 
1 ready been made in good faith, the claimant 
1 shall be entitled to the said period of two years 
4 from and after the date of this act : Provided, 
4 That no claim of pre-emption shall be allowed 
1 for more than one hundred and sixty acres, or 
1 one quarter section of land, nor shall any such 
1 claim be admitted under the provisions of this 
1 act, unless there shall have been at least three 
1 months of actual and continuous residence 
' upon and cultivation of the land so claimed from 
1 the date of settlement, and proof thereof made 

* according to law : Provided, further, That any 
4 claimant, under the pre-emption laws, may 
4 take less than one hundred and sixty acres by 
4 legal subdivisions. 

" Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in re- 



' gard to all lands which have been or may 
' hereafter be surveyed, it shall be the duty of 
' the President to order the same into market, 
' by public proclamation, within two years from 
' the date of this act, or the reception of the ap- 
1 proved plats of survey for the same at the 
1 proper district office : Provided, That suchproc- 
4 lamations shall in no wise affect or be con- 
' strued to embrace any lands which the Presi- 
4 dent or the proper department may have order- 
4 ed to be reserved for any purpose. 

44 Sec 9. And be it further enacted, That the 
1 fifth section of the act entitled, ' An act in ad- 
' dition to an act more effectually to provide for 
' the punishment of certain crimes against the 
4 United States, and for other purposes,' ap- 
1 proved the third of March, in the year eighteen 
4 hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all 
1 oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, required or 
' authorized by this act. t 

" Sec 10. And be it further enacted, Thatnoth- 
1 in this act shall be so construed as to prevent 
[ any person who has availed him or herself of 
4 the benefit of the first section of this act from 
4 paying the minimum price, or the price to which 
' the same may have graduated, for the quantity 
1 of land so entered at any time before the expira- 
' tion of the five jears, and obtaining a patent 
• therefor from the Government, as in other 
' cases provided by law. 

"Sec 11. And be it further enacted, That all 
' lands lying within the limits of a State, which 
4 have been subject to sale at private entry, and 
1 which remain unsold after the lapse of thirty 
1 years, shall be, and the same are hereby, ceded 
' to the State in which the same may be sit- 
' uated : Provided, These cessions shall in no 
1 way invalidate any inceptive pre-emption right 
4 or location, or any entry under this act, nor 
' any sale or sales which may be made by the 
' United States before the lands hereby ceded 
4 shall be certified to the State, as they are here- 
' by required to be, under such regulations as 
' may be prescribed by the Secretary of the In- 
1 terior: And provided, further, That no cessions 
1 shall take effect until after the States, by legis- 
' lative act, shall have assented to the same." 

The points of difference between t^k House 
and Senate bills were accurately stated by Mr. 
Colfax, page 2988. He said : 

44 There are five points of difference between 
4 the two bills. The first is in relation to the 
4 persons who may be beneficiaries under the 
4 bill. The second is in relation to the area of 
1 Government land covered by the bill. The 
4 third point is in relation to the pre-emptors 
4 now upon the land. The fourth, in relation to 
1 the price of the land. And the fifth, in rela- 
4 tion to the duty of the President to expose 
4 lands to sale. 

44 The first point is in relation to the benefi- 
4 ciaries under the bill. The House bill embraces 
4 all persons, citizen»of the United States, or 
4 who have declared their intentions to become 
4 such, whether head3 of families or not, if they 
4 are over twenty-one years of age. 

44 The Senate bill confines the benefit to head3 
4 of families alone, excluding the young men, 




10 



who furnish the largest portion of the defend- 
ers of our country in time of war, and who are 
a most valuable portion of our population. 

" Under the second head, the House bill in- 
cludes all pre-emptors now upon the land, and 
allows them, as well as those who settle here- 
after, to have a quarter section for ten dollars, 
after five years' settlement thereon. The Sen- 
ate bill excludes the pre-emptors now upon the 
public land from its operation, but gives them 
two years after the passage of the bill to take 
the land at full Government price, one dollar 
and twenty- five cents per acre. And I would 
add, in regard to this, that the House have 
passed a bill, still pending in the Senate, pro- 
hibiting sales of public lands till ten years 
after survey, and which, if passed, would give 
the actual settler ten years start of the specu- 
lator. The pre-emptors already upon the pub- 
lic land cannot take the quarter section they 
are now upon, under the Senate bill, unless 
they pay the Government price for it. If it is 
not paid for by them, it must be put up at pub- 
lic sale, and speculators take an equal chance 
with them. To secure the benefit of the Sen- 
ate bill, the present pre-emptors will have to 
abandon the homesteads they are on, with what 
improvements they have made, and claim an- 
other quarter section. 

" The third point is in reference to the land 
covered by the two bills. The House bill ap- 
plies to all lands subject to pre-emption. This 
covers all lands owned by the Government 
which are not reserved for special purposes. 
The Senate bill is confined to lands subject to 
private entry, which are lands remaining after 
public sale, and after non-resident speculators 
have had their pick and choice. Even then, a 
speculator, with a land warrant costing him 
about sixty or seventy cents per acre, can ob- 
tain a fee simple title at once ; while the actual 
settler must stay on his land five years before 
he can obtain his title, and then pay twenty- 
five cents per acre, besides the land office fees. 

" The next point is in regard to the price-; The 
Senate bill requires twenty-five cents per acre, 
or fort^ . dollars for a quarter section, which is 
twice at* costly as the graduated public lands 
in Missouri, &c. The House bill requires only 
ten dollars, which is charged to cover the cost 
of surveying, field notes, &c, incurred by the 
Government. 

" The next point is in regard to the duty of 
the President to expose the lands to public 
sale. There is nothing in relation to that mat- 
ter in the House bill. The Senate bill requires 
and compels the President to expose all the 
public lands to sale within two years after sur- 
vey — an entirely new feature, never before in- 
corporated in a land bill. 

" The Senate bill has also another provision, 
which has no correlative feature in the House 
bill. It grants to the States all lands in their 
respective limits, after having been in market 
thirty years. 

" I have only to add, that there is no land 
subject to the provision of the Senate bill in 
Minnesota, nor in Washington or Oregon, and 



' but very little in California, Kansas, and Ne- 
' braska, as there is but little Government land 
' there subject to private entry." 

The great body of the Democratic party in the 
Senate were nevertheless anxious to defeat any 
bill, as they had previously done by non-action, 
and a protracted debate took place, and it was 
not until the 10th May, more than two months 
after the reception of the bill from the House, 
that the Republicans of the Senate, aided by 
Senator Johnson, of Tennessee, could bring them 
to a vote. On that day, the question between 
the Senate and House bills was decided by the 
following vote: 

Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Bingham, Cameron, 
Chandler, Clark, Collamer, Dixon, Doolittle, Doug- 
las, Durhee, Foster, Grimes, Hale, Hamlin, Har~ 
Ian, King, Rice, Seward, Simmons, Sumner, Ten 
Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wilson — 
25. 

Nays — Messrs. Bayard, Bigler, Bragg, Bright, 
Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman, Davis, Fitz- 
patrick, Green, Gwin, Hammond, Hemphill, Hun- 
ter, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennessee, 
Lane, Latham, Mason, Nicholson, Pearce, Polk, 
Powell, Pugh, Sebastian, Slidell, Toombs, Wig- 
fall, and Yulee— 30.— Page 2042. 

This was substantially the rejection of the 
homestead law, and was so regarded not only 
by the Democrats, as we have seen, but by the 
Republicans. But as the Senate bill gave a lit- 
tle time to pre-emptors, Mr. Wilson, of Massa- 
chusetts, and the Republicans generally, deter- 
mined, but reluctantly, to accept even that much 
till they could do better. But the Senate bill, 
whilst doing so little for the settler at present, 
contained provisions, as for example that ceding 
the lands to the Statra, and requiring all sur- 
veyed lands to be offered for sale, which might 
embarrass the action of the friends of the home- 
stead in the next Congress, when they will have 
full power ; and for this reason many Republi- 
cans were strongly inclined to vote against the 
bill, and Mr. Hamlin, with characteristic firm- 
ness, acted on his judgment, and voted against 
the Senate bill, for this reason. He said : 

" I am very much in the same situation with 
1 the Senator from Massachusetts, with this dis- 
1 tinction : I am against the bill, and I am going 
1 to vote against it ; I am going to leave a record 
' consistent with my judgment. I think the bill 
' is wrong. I do not think there would be much 
' harm in worshipping it, for I do not think it 
1 bears any similitude to anything above the 
1 earth or beneath the skies that you can call a 
' homestead. The men who have taken it under 
1 their peculiar care are the enemies of the home- 
1 stead principle, and they propose to pass it. I 
' am perfectly willing they should do so ; but 
1 they tell us, and they tell us frankly, that it is 
' not a homestead bill, and it is not. Now, sir, 
' it being no homestead bill, I will not vote for 
4 it. I voted to substitute the House bill for thi3 
' bill ; but those who have the control of the 
c matter have put it into a position which I think 
' is unjust. There are things in that bill for 
' which I cannot vote. There are things that 
* ought to go into it to make it justifiable, to 



11 



1 enable me to give it my vote. For these rea- 
* sons I shall vote against it." 

The vote on the passage of the Senate bill 
was as follows : 

Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Bigler, Bingham, 
Bright, Brown, Cameron, Chandler, Chesnut, 
Clark, Clay, Collamer, Davis, Dixon, Doolittle, 
Douglas, Durkee, Fitzpatrick, Foster, Green, 
Grimes, Gwin, Hale, Hammond, Harlan, Hemp- 
hill, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Tennes- 
see, King, Lane, Latham, Nicholson, Polk, Pugh, 
Rice, Sebastian, Seward, Slidell, Sumner, Ten 
Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson, and 
Yulee — 44. 

Nays — Messrs. Bragg, Clingman, Hamlin, Hun- 
ter, Mason, Pearce, Powell, and Toombs — 8. 
Page 2043. 

The House refused to concur in the Senate 
bill, and reinstated their own bill by substan- 
tially the same vote by which it had been passed. 
(Page 2222.) Two committees of conference 
met and separated without being able to concur 
in a report. A third committee, however, on 
the 19th June, (pages 3178, 3159,) agreed to re- 
port the following, known as 

THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE BILL. 
" An Act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the pub- 
lic domain, and for other purposes. 
" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress assembled, That any person who is the 
head of a family, and a citizen of the United 
States, shall, from and after the passage of 
this act, be entitled to enter one quarter section 
of vacant and unappropriated public lands, or 
any less quantity, to be located in a body, in 
conformity with the legal subdivisions of the 
public lands, after the same shall have been 
surveyed, upon the following conditions : that 
the person applying for the benefit of this aet 
shall, upon application to the register of the 
lmd office in which he or she is about to make 
6uch entry, make affidavit before the said reg- 
ister or receiver of said land office that he or 
she is the head of a family, and is actually set- 
tled on the quarter section, or other subdivis- 
ions not exceeding a quarter section, proposed 
to be entered, and that such application is 
made for his or her use and benefit, or for the 
use and benefit of those specially mentioned in 
this section, and not either directly or indi- 
rectly for the use or benefit of any other per- 
son or persons whomsoever, and that he or 
she has never, at any previous time, had the 
benefit of this act; and upon making the affi- 
davit as above required, and filing the same 
with the register, he or she shall thereupon be 
permitted to enter the quantity of land already 
specified : Provided, however, That no final cer- 
tificate shall be given, or patent issued there- 
for, until the expiration of five years from the 
date of such entry ; and if, at the expiration of 
such time, the person making such entry, or, 
if he be dead, his widow, or, in case of her 
death, his child or children, or in case of a 
widow making such entry, her child or chil- 
dren, in case of her death, shall prove, by two 
credible witnesses, that he, she, or they — that 



' is to say, some member or members of the same 
^family — has or have erected a dwelling-house 
' upon said land, and continued to reside upon 
' and cultivate the same for the term of five 
1 years, and still reside upon the same, (and that 
4 neither the said land nor any part thereof has 
' been alienated ;) then, in such case, he, she, or 
1 they, upon the payment of twenty-five cents 
4 per acre for the quantity entered, shall be en- 
1 titled to a patent, as in other cases provided by 
' law : And provided, further, In case of the death 
1 of both father and mother, • leaving a minor 
' child or children, the right and the fee shall 
' inure to the benefit of said minor child or chil- 
• dren, and the guardian shall be authorized to 
4 perfect the entry for the beneficiaries, as if there 
4 had been a continued residence of the settler 
4 for five years : Provided, That nothing in this 
1 section shall be so construed as to embrace or 
1 in any way include any quarter section or frac- 
1 tional quarter section of land upon which any 
c pre-emption right has been acquired prior to 
1 the passage of this act: And provided, further, 
' That all entries made under the provisions of 
' this section upon lands which have not been 
4 offered for public sale shall be confined to and 
4 upon sections designated by odd numbers. 

" Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the 
4 register of the land office shall note all such 
1 applications on the tract books and plats of his 
1 office, and keep a register of all such entries, 
4 and make return thereof to the General Land 
' Office, together with the proof upon which they 
1 have been founded. 

" Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That no land 
1 acquired under the provisions of this act shall, 
' in any event, become liable to the satisfaction 
4 of any debt or debts until after the issuing of 
1 the patent therefor. 

44 Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That if, at 
4 any time after filing the affidavit, as required 
4 in the first section of this act, and before the 
4 expiration of the five years aforesaid, it shall 
4 be proved, after due notice to the settler, to the 
4 satisfaction of the register of the land office, 
4 that the person having filed such affidavit shall 
1 have sworn falsely in any particular j *or shall 
' have voluntarily abandoned the possession and 
' cultivation of the said land for more than six 
1 months at any time, or sold his right under the 
1 entry, then, and in either of those events, the 
1 register shall cancel the entry, and the land so 
4 entered shall revert to the Government, and be 
4 disposed of as other public lands are now by 
4 law, subject to an appeal to the Secretary of 
1 the Interior. And in no case shall any land, 
' the entry whereof shall have been cancelled, 
' again be subject to occupation, or entry, or 
4 purchase, until the same shall have been re- 
4 ported to the General Land Office, and, by the 
4 direction of the President of the United States, 
4 again advertised and offered at public sale. 

" Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any 
4 person, now or hereafter, a resident of any one 
4 of the States or Territories, and not a citizen 
' of the United States, but who, at the time of 
4 making such application for the benefit of this 
1 act, shall have filed a declaration of intention, 



12 



4 as required by the naturalization laws of the 
4 United States, and shall have become a citizen 
1 of the same before the issuing of the patent, as 
4 provided for in this a*,., fcuch person shall be 
4 entitled to all the rights conferred by this 
1 act. 

"Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That no in- 
1 dividual shall be permitted to enter more than 
4 one quarter section, or fractional quarter 
1 section, and that in a compact body, but 
1 entries may be made at different times, 
1 under the provisions of this act ; and that 
4 the Secretary of the Interior is hereby re- 
4 quired to prepare and issue, from time to time, 
4 such rules and regulations, consistent with this 
4 act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry 
4 its provisions into effect ; and that the registers 
4 and receivers of the several land offices shall 
4 be entitled to receive, upon the filing of the 

* first affidavit, the sum of fifty cents each, and 

* a like sum upon the issuing of the final certifi- 
4 cate. But this shall not be construed to en- 
4 large the maximum of compensation now pre- 
1 scribed by law for any register or receiver : 
1 Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so 
4 construed as to impair the existing pre-emp- 
4 tion, donation, or graduation laws, or to em- 
4 brace lands which have been reserved to be 

* sold or entered at the price of two dollars and 

* fifty cents per acre; but no entry, under said 
1 graduation act, shall be allowed until after 
1 proof of actual settlement and cultivation or 
4 occupancy for at least three months, as provi- 

* ded for in section three of the said act. 

" Sec! 7. And be it further enacted, That each 

* actual settler upon lands of the United States 
4 which have not been offered at public sale, 
4 upon filing his declaration or claim, as now 
4 required by law, shall be entitled to two 
4 years from the commencement of his occu- 
4 pation or settlement, or, if the lands have 
4 not been surveyed, two years from the re- 
4 ceipt of the approved plat of such lands at 
4 the district land office, within which to com- 
4 plete the proofs of his said claim, and to enter 
4 and pay for the land so claimed, at minimum 
4 price (h; such lands ; and where such settle- 
4 ments hare already been made in good faith, 
4 the claimant shall be entitled to the said period 
4 of two years from and after the date of this 
4 act: Provided, That no claim of pre-emption 
4 shall be allowed for more than one hundred 
4 and sixty acres, or one quarter section of land, 
4 nor shall any such claim be admitted under the 
4 provisions of this act, unless there shall have 
4 been at least three months of actual and con- 
4 tinuous residence upon and cultivation of the 
4 land so claimed from the date of settlement, 
4 and proof thereof made according to law ; Pro- 
4 vided. further, That any claimant under the pre- 
4 emption laws may take less than one hundred 
4 and sixty acres by legal subdivisions : Provided, 
'further, That all persons who are pre-emptors 
4 on the date of the passage of this act shall, 
4 upon the payment to the proper authority of 
4 sixty-two and one-half cents per acre, if paid 
4 within two years from the passage of this act, 
1 be entitled to a patent from the Government, 



as now provided by the existing pre-emption 
laws. 

44 Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That the 
fifth section of the act entitled " An act in ad- 
dition to an act more effectually to provide for 
the punishment of certain crimes against the 
United States, and for other purposes," ap- 
proved the third of March, in the year eighteen 
hundred and fifty-seven, shall extend to all 
oaths, affirmations, and affidavits, required or 
authorized by this act. 

'" Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That nothing 
in this act shall be so construed as to prevent 
any person who has availed him or herself of 
the benefit of the first section of this act from 
paying the minimum price, or the price to which 
the same may have graduated, for the quantity 
of land so entered at any time after an actual 
settlement of six months, and before the expi- 
ration of the five years, and obtaining a patent 
therefor from the Government, as in other cases 
provided by law. 

"Sec 10. And be it further enacted, That all 
lands lying within the limits of a State which 
have been subject to sale at private entry, and 
which remain unsold after the lapse of thirty 
years, shall be, and the same are hereby, ceded 
to the State in which the same may be situated: 
Provided, These cessions shall in no way invali- 
date any inceptive pre-emption right or loca- 
tion, or any entry under this act, nor any sale 
or sales which may be made by the United 
States before the lands hereby ceded shall be 
certified to the State, as they are hereby re- 
quired to be, under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior: 
And provided, further, That no cessions shall 
take effect till after the States, by legislative 
act, shall have assented to the same." 
Which passed the Senate by the following 
vote: 

Yeas— Messrs. Anthony, Bigler, Bingham, 
Brown, Cameron, Chandler, Clark, Davis, Doo- 
liitle, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Foot, Foster, Green, Gwin, 
Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, Johnson of Tennessee, 
King, Lane, Latham, Mallory, Nicholson, Polk, 
Powell, Rice, Sebastian, Seward, Simmons, Sum- 
ner, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, Wilson, and 
Yulee— 36. 
Nays — Messrs. Bragg and Pearce — 2. 
And the House by the following vote : 
Yeas — Messrs. Charles F. Adams, Aldrichj 
Allen, Alley, Ashley, Babbitt, Barr, Beale, Bing- 
ham, Francis P. Blair, Samuel S. Blair, Blake, 
Brayton, Briggs, Buffinton, Burch, Burlingame, 
Burnham, Butterfield, Campbell, Carey, Carter, 
Case, Horace F. Clark, Cobb, Colfax, Corwin, Co- 
vode, Cox, Curtis, John G. Davis, Dawes, Delano, 
Duell, Dunn, Edgerton, Edwards, Eliot, Ely y 
Ferry, Florence, Foster, Frank, French, Gooch, 
Graham, Grow, Gurley, Hale, Hall, Haskin, HeU 
mick, Hoard, William Howard, Humphrey, Hutch- 
ins, Junkin, Francis W. Kellogg, William Kellogg, 
Kenyon, KiUinger, De Witt C. Leach, Lee, Long- 
necker, Loomis, Maclay, Marston, McKean, Mc- 
Knight, McPherson, Millward, Moorhead, Morrill, 
Edward Joy Morris, Isaac N. Morris, Morse, Nib- 
lack, Nixon, Olin, Palmer, Pendleton, Perry } Pet- 



13 



tit, Phelps, Porter, Potter, Rice, Riggs, Christopher 
Robinson, Royce, Sedgwick, Sherman, Somes, Spaul- 
ding, Spinner, Stanton, William Steivart, Stout, 
Tappan, Taylor, Thayer, Theaker, Tompkins, Train, 
Trimble, Vandever, Van Wyck, Verree, Wade, Wal- 
ton, Cadwalader C. Washburn, Ellihu B. Wash- 
burne, Israel Washburn, Wells, Windom, and Wood- 
ruff— 115. 

Nays — Messrs. Green Adams, William C. An- 
derson, Ashmore, Avery, Barksdale, Bocock, 
Bonham, Boyce, Brabson, Branch, Burnett, Clop- 
ton, Burton Craige, Crawford, Curry, De Jar- 
uette, Gilmer, Hardeman, J. Morrison Harris, 
John T. Harris, Hatton, Houston, Jenkins, Jones, 
Keitt, Landruin, James M. Leach, Leake, Love, 
Mallory, Maynard, McQueen, Miles, Millson, 
Sydenham Moore, Nelson, Peyton, Quarles, 
Reagan, Ruffin, William Smith, William N. H. 
Smith, Stevenson, Stokes, Thomas, Underwood, 
Vance, Webster, Winslow, Woodson, and 
Wright— 51. 

On the 23d of June, the President vetoed the 
bill. His objections were thus briefly but fairly 
stated, and answered by Senator Harlan. He 
said: 

44 1. His first objection is, that Congress has no 
1 power to give away the public lauds to either 
1 individuals or States. But this bill proposes to 
1 sell them to speculators, as heretofore, at $1.25 
4 per acre, and to homestead settlers at twenty-five 
4 cents per acre. Hence no gift is proposed ; it 
4 ia a reduction of price to the actual settler. It 
4 is true, it grants to the States all lands that 
1 have been exposed to sale for thirty years, and 

* for five years of that period offered at twenty- 
4 five cents per acre. This, too, is not in the 
4 nature of a gift, but an abandonment of property 

* to the States, that has ceased to be of value to 
1 the Government. This feature of the bill was 
4 defended by the Senator from Alabama, [Mr. 
4 Clay,] with ability, on the ground that, after 
1 lands had been exposed for sale for thirty years 
4 at graduated prices, running down to twenty- 
4 five cents per acre, the entire proceeds of sales 
4 would not defray the expenses of the land offi- 
4 ces. Hence it would cease to be of value to this 
4 Government. Certainly no one can pretend 
4 that this Government has no power to aban- 
4 don worthless property. 

44 2. His second objection is, that this bill 
4 would prove unjust and unequal in its opera- 
4 tion among the actual settlers themselves ; that 
4 those who have heretofore settled on and pur- 
4 chased public lands have paid $1.25 per acre; 
4 if you now reduce the price to sixty-two and a 
4 half or twenty-five cent3 per acre, you treat the 
4 first purchasers unjustly, and you will be re- 
4 quired to refund to them the difference. Well, 
4 sir, such an argument hardly merits a moment's 
4 thought. It implies the declaration that Con- 
4 greBS has no power to reduce the price of pub- 
4 lie property without refunding to all others 
4 who may have bought at a higher rate ! And 
4 that, too, in the face of his own declaration, 
4 contained in this same veto message, that the 
4 price was heretofore reduced from $2 to $1.25 ; 
4 and yet no one has heard a clamor, or even a 
4 request to have you refund from the Treasury 



4 to the first purchaser the difference in price of 
1 se«enty-five cents per acre. 

" 3. His third objection is, that the bill will 
4 do great injustice to the old soldiers who have 
4 received bounty land warrants, by reducing their 
4 value in the market. Now, sir, when these 
4 bounty land warrants were authorized to be 
4 issued, they were not assignable ; it is merely 
4 a grant to the old soldier, of the right to enter 
4 a piece of land without pay ; it was a donation 
4 of land to the soldier. The warrants were after- 
4 wards made assignable, for the benefit of the 
4 soldier who could not or would not select and 
4 enter land. Who ever dreamed that, by this 
4 act making land warrants assignable, Congress 
4 entered into an implied obligation to maintain 
4 their value in the market by withholding lands 
4 from market at less than $1.2 5 per acre? Neither 
4 the Congress nor the Executive seem to think so, 
4 when the graduation bill became a law. 

44 4. His fourth objection is, that this bill 
4 would be unjust to mechanics, and other classes 
4 of citizens than agriculturists, requiring them 
4 to change their modes of life. How so ? Is it 
4 not broad enough in its provisions to embrace 
4 all ? Every head of a family, a citizen of the 
4 United States, or who has declared his intention 
4 to become such, may settle on and occupy his 
' homestead, whether farmer or mechanic, lawyer 
4 or doctor ; none are inhibited. If they decline 
4 to do so, it is not the fault of the law ; nor does 
4 the bill require any one to change his calling as 
4 a prerequisite to settlement. 

44 5. His fifth objection is, that the bill would 
4 be unjust to the old States, in diminishing the 
' marketable value of their lands, and holding out 
4 a premium to their citizens to emigrate to the 
4 new States. This may be a very good argu- 
1 ment when addressed to the State pride of the 
4 Representatives of the old States, but not very 
4 creditable to their humanity. Who are the citi- 
4 zens of the new States ? Your sons and daugh- 
4 ters — the children and grandchildren of your 
4 people at home ! And the President of this Re- 
4 public invites you to adopt a policy that will re- 
4 tain them around the old homestead and worn- 
4 out lands, to struggle with penury and want — 
4 to become the hewers of wood and the drawers of 
' water of hard-hearted landlords — rather than to 
4 send them to the fertile lands of the new States, 
4 to build up for themselves fortunes and happy 
4 homes. 

44 6. His sixth objection is, that 'this bill wifl 
4 open one vast field for speculation. Large num- 
4 bers of actual settlers will be carried out by 
4 capitalists, upon agreements to give them half 
4 of the land for the improvement of the other 
4 half." This objection will excite the ridicule of 
4 every settler in a new State who sees it. How 
4 much would it cost the capitalist to remove fam- 
4 ilies from the old States to the unoccupied pub- 
4 lie lands in the new States and Territories, and 
4 maintain them until they can cultivate a crop, 
4 and live on the proceeds of their own industry ? 
4 No one will pretend that it can be done for less 
4 than $100 per family. In what, then, will 
4 consist the speculator's profit ? He will advance 
4 $100 or so, to transport and feed a family, and 



14 



keep them on 160 acres of public land during a 
period of five years, for the privilege of entering 
eighty acres of the land at twenty-five cents per 
acre, in pursuance of a secret bargain made 
with the settler in violation of law, and conse- 
quently void, when he can go direct to the 
land office and enter his eighty acres, without 
delay and hazard, for $100. 

" 7. His seventh objection is the allegation 
that this bill discriminates against native-born 
citizens, in favor of the foreign- born. The Sen- 
ator from Ohio has characterized this objection 
as beneath the dignity of a legal quibble. And 
no one doubts that the President gives this 
part of the bill a construction not intended by 
the framer of the bill, or either of tbe Commit- 
tees on Public Lands, or any one member of 
either branch of Congress ; and hence, if sus- 
ceptible of such a construction, it could be 
remedied, by tbe passage of a joint resolution, 
in less than thirty minutes. 

"8. His eighth objection is an allegation of 
an unjust discrimination between persons now 
claiming the benefit of pre-emption laws, who 
are permitted by this bill to enter, within two 
years, their quarter sections, at sixty-two and 
a half cents per acre, and future pre-emptors, 
who, he says, will be required to pay $1.25 
per acre. This is an unfair statement, only bo 
far as it applies to pre-emptors on unsurveyed 
public lands. The bill provides that hereafter 
the settlers on the odd sections of the unof- 
fered surveyed landn, and ail the lands subject 
to sale at private entry, may, at the expiration 
of five years, enter them for twenty-five cents 
per acre ; and that those who go out beyoud 
the^ surveys may enter by paying $1.25 per acre 
within two years from the receipt of the ap- 
proved plats of the surveys at the local land 
offices. This, in my judgment, is the correct 
policy; it tends to restrain settlements within 
the public surveys ; it will cause settlements to 
follow, rather than run beyond, the surveys ; 
it will tend to make the settlements more com- 
pact and the frontiers more defensible. 

"9. The ninth objection is an allegation that 
the passage of the bill will diminish materially 
the public revenue. In my opinion, this is a de- 
lusion. We have had but one illustration in the 
history of the Government of the effect of such a 
law as is now proposed. This occurred in Ore- 
gon. Each head of a family was allowed to en- 
ter without cost 320 acres of land after settle- 
ment and occupancy for a term of four years. I 
have been informed by the Senator from Oregon 
that full 72 per cent, of these claims were pur- 
chased by the occupants at $1.25 per acre, pre- 
vious to the expiration of that short period. So 
it will be under this bill, should it become a law. 
A large majority of the settlers will enter their 
homes at $1.25 per acre before the expiration of 
the five years. There are many reasons for this, 
with which I am perfectly familiar, having been 
born and brought up on the frontier. I will men- 
tion but one. The land, with the progress of 
settlements and improvements, will rapidly in- 
crease in value. The first settlers will desire to 
sell, or to be in a condition to sell their improve- 



' ments, for the purpose of bettering their condi- 
( tion, which cannot be done under the provisions 
1 of this bill until after title shall have been ob- 
' tained from the Government. 

" 10. The tenth objection is the allegation that 
' this bill destroys an inheritance of vast value, to 
' which we may resort for revenue in times of dif- 
' flculty and danger. But our experience proves 
' that, during times of war, embarrassment, and 
4 financial difficulity, the proceeds of the sales of 
' public lands become merely nominal, and swell 
' to a large sum during periods of peace and 
1 prosperity, when it is less needed." 

On the question whether the bill should pass 
over the veto, the vote was as follows: * 

Yeas — Messrs. Anthony, Brown, Chandler^ 
Clark, Doolittle, Fessenden, Fitch, Foot, Foster, 
Gwin, Hale, Hamlin, Harlan, King, Lane, Latham, 
Nicholson, Polk, Pugh, Rice, Simmons, Sumner, 
Ten Eyck, Trumbull, Wade, Wilkinson, and Wil- 
son— 21. 

Nays — Messrs. Bragg, Chesnut, Crittenden, 
Davis, Fitzpatrick, Green, Hemphill, Hunter, 
Iverson, Johnson of Arkansas, Johnson of Ten- 
nessee, Mallory, Mason, Pearce, Powell, Sebas- 
tian, Wigfall, and Yulee — 18. 

It is unnecessary to add anything to this rec- 
ord to fix responsibility for the fate of the home- 
stead bill upon the Democracy, or to illustrate 
the artful manoeuvring by which they sought 
to avoid it. The record shows that they endeav- 
ored first to defeat any bill by delay. Being 
forced to act, they substituted?* graduation bill 
for the homestead, and finally had this vetoed on 
the shallowest pretexts. It was a game of eva- 
sion and trick from beginning to end. It was 
never intended that any bill should pass. The 
effort was, when forced to vote, so to emasculate 
the bill that a majority of the Republicans might 
vote against it ; and the remarks of Davis and 
Green above referred to, and others to the same 
effect, were often repeated, and even their votes 
were cast, as the sequel shows, to produce this 
effect. It is manifest, indeed, that it was ar- 
ranged that the bill should be vetoed if not killed 
in this manner, because all the votes necessary 
to sustain the veto were promptly furnished, with 
as little regard to consistency as the President 
himself exhibited in vetoing a measure to carry 
into effect the pledge he had given in his inau- 
gural address, "to reserve the public lands as 
much as may be for the actual settler." That 
this programme was known to their leaders is 
now manifest from a circumstance which oc- 
curred on the 3d of April. Mr. Green then said, 
in reference to the bill, that it could not become 
a law without the President's signature. Sena- 
tor Trumbull immediately inquired, whether he 
meant to intimate that the President would veto 
the bill, and Green gave no reply. 

The bill to prevent the sale of the public land 
to speculators for ten years after they are survey- 
ed, a proper supplement to the homestead law, 
was passed by the House, May 26, 1860, (pp. 
2252, 2253,) by the following vote: 

* Senator Johnson of Tennessee voted in the negative to 
move a reconsideration. 



15 



Yeas — Messrs. Charles F. Adams, Adrain, I 
Aldrich, Alley, Babbitt, Earr, Beale, Bingham, I 
Blavr, Blake, Brayton, Bufflnton, Burnham, But- j 
ierMd, Campbell, Carey, Carter, Case, Horace F. 
Clark, Clark B. Cochrane, Jobn Cochrane, Colfax, 
Conkling, Covode, H. Winter Davis, Dawes, Del- 
ano, Duell, Edioards, Eliot, Ely, Etheridge. Fen- 
Um, Ferry, Florence, Foster, Frank, French, 
Gooch, Graham, Grow, J. Morrison Harris, 
Haskin, Helmick, Hoard, Holroan, William How- 
ard, William A. Howard, Humphrey, Hutchins, 
Junkin, Francis W. Kellogg, Kilgore, Killinger, 
De Witt C. Leach, Lee, Loomis, Lovejoy, Maclay, 
Marston, Charles D. Martin, McKnight, McPher- 
ton, Moorhead, Morrill, Edward Joy Morris, 
Morse, Nixon, Olin, Perry," Pettit, Porter, Potter, 
Pottle, Reynolds, Rice, Christopher Robinson, 
Boyce, Schwartz, Scranton, Sedgwick, Sherman, 
Somes, Spinner, William Stewart, Siratton, Thayer, 
Tompkins, Train, Trimble, Vandever, Van Wyck, 
Verree, Wade, Waldron, Walton, Ellihu B. Wash- 
bur ne, Israel Washburn, Wells, Wilson, Windom, 
and Woodrvff— 102. 

Nays — Messrs. Thomas L. Anderson, William 
C. Anderson, Ashmore, Avery, Barrett, Bocock, 
Bonham, Boteler, Boyce, Brab'son, Bristow, 
Burch, -Burnett, John B. Clark, Clopton, Cobb, 
James Craig, Crawford, Curry, John G. Davis, 
De Jarnetie, Edmundson, Fouke, Gartrell, Gil- j 



mer, Hamilton, Hardeman, John T. Harris, Hat- 
ton, Hawkins, Bill, Houston, Hughes, Jenkins, 
James M. Leach, Love, Maynaud, McQueen, 
McRae, Millson, Montgomery, Laban T. Moore, 
Sydenham Moore, Nelson, Noell, Peyton, Phelps, 
Pryor, Pugh, Quarles, Reagan, Riggs, James C. 
Robinson, Ruffin, Rust, Simms, Singleton, Wil- 
liam N. H. Smith, Stallworth, Stevenson, Stokes, 
Thomas, Underwood, Vance, Webster, Winslow, 
and Wright — 67. 

The Senate's Committee on Public Lands re- 
ported against this bill on 7th June, (p, 2723,) 
and no action was afterwards taken on it in that 
body. 

This record leaves nothing to be said with re- 
spect to the positions of parties on questions which 
have been the touchstone of political sympathies 
in all time. It is true that a few of the Democratic 
Senators and Representatives vote with the Re- 
publicans for homesteads and bills to stop land, 
monopoly, but this argues nothing as to their 
real wishes on the subject; for whilst they up- 
hold the power that overrules their votes, they 
themselves render such votes inoperative. They 
are in fact the most effective supporters of the 
forestalled, speculators, and monopolizers, for, 
by their show of opposition, they are enabled to 
aid in betraying the people to their oppressors. 



EEPUBLICAN PLATFOEM, 
Adopted by the Chicago Convention, May 17, 1860, 



Resolved, That we, the delegated representa- 
tives of the Republican Electors of the United 
States, in Convention assembled, in discharge 
of the duty we owe to our constituents and our 
country, unite in the following declarations '. 

First. That the history of the naiion during 
the last four years has fully established the pro- 
priety and necessity of the organization and 
perpetuation of the Republican party, and that 
the causes which called it into existence are 
permanent in their nature, and now, more than 
ever before, demand its peaceful and constitu- 
tional triumph. 

Second. That the maintenance of the princi 
pies promulgated in the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and embodied in the Federal Consti- 
tution, " that all men are created equal ; that 
they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights ; that among these are life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that to 
secure these rights, Governments are instituted 
among men, deriving their just powers from 
the consent of the governed," is essential to the 
preservation of our republican institutions; and 
that the Federal Constitution, the rights of the 
States, and the Union of the States, must and 
shall be preserved. 



Third. That to the Union of the States this 
nation owes its unprecedented increase in popu- 
lation $ its surprising development of material 
resources ; its rapid augmentation of wealth ; 
its happiness at home and its honor abroad ; 
and we hold in abhorrence all schemes for dis- 
union, come from whatever source they may ; 
and we' congratulate the country that no Re* 
publican member of Congress has uttered or 
countenanced the threats of disunion, so often 
made by Democratic members without rebuke 
and with applause from their political asso- 
ciates ; and we denounce those threats of dis- 
union, in case of a popular overthrow of their 
ascendency, as denying the vital principles of 
a free Government, and as an avowal of con- 
templated reason, which it is the imperative 
duty of an indignant people sternly to rebuke 
and forever silence. 

Fourth, That the maintenance inviolate of 
Jhe rights of the States, and especially the right 
of each State to order and control its own do- 
mestic institutions, according to its own judg- 
ment exclusively, is essential to that balance 
of power on which the perfection and endu- 
rance of our political fabric depends ; and we 
denounce the lawless invasion by armed force 



16 



of the soil of any State or Territory, no matter 
under what pretext, as among the gravest of 
crimes. 

Fifth. That the present Democratic Ad- 
ministration has far exceeded our worst appre- 
hensions in its measureless subserviency to the 
exactions of a sectional interest, as especially 
evidenced in its desperate exertions to force the 
infamous Lecomptoti Constitution upon the 
protesting people of Kansas — in construing the 
personal relation between master and servant 
to involve an unqualified property in persons — 
in its attempted enforcement everywhere, on 
land and sea, through the intervention of Con- 
gress and of the Federal courts, of the extreme 
pretensions of a purely local interest, and in its 
general and unvarying abuse of the power in- 
trusted to it by a confiding people. 

Sixth. That the people justly view with alarm 
the reckless extravagance which pervades every 
department of the Federal Government; that 
a return to rigid economy and accountability is 
indispensable to arrest the systematic plunder 
of the public Treasury by favored partisans ; 
while the recent startling developments of 
frauds and corruptions at the Federal metropo- 
lis show that an entire change of Administra- 
tion is imperatively demanded. 

Seventh. That the new dogma that the Con- 
stitution of its own force carries slavery into 
any or all of the Territories of the United 
States, is a dangerous political heresy, at vari- 
ance with the explicit provisions of that instru- 
ment itself, with cotemporaneous exposition, 
and with legislative and judicial precedent; is 
revolutionary in its tendency, and subversive 
of the peace and harmony of the country. 

Eighth. That the normal condition of all the 
territory of the United States is that of Free- 
dom ; that as our republican fathers, when they 
had abolished slavery in all our national terri- 
tory, ordained that '' no person should be de- 
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law,'' it becomes our duty, by legisla- 
tion, whenever such legislation is necessary, to 
maintain this provision of the Constitution 
against all attempts to violate it; and we deny 
the authority of Congress, of a Territorial Leg- 
islature, or of any individuals, to give legal ex- 
istence to slavery in any Territory of the Uni- 
ted States. 

Ninth. That we brand the recent reopening 
of the African slave trade, under the cover of 
our national Hag, aided by perversions of judi- 
cial power, as a crime against humanity, and a 
burning shame to our country and age ; and we 
call upon Congress to take prompt and efficient 
measures for the total and final suppression of 
that execrable traffic. 

Tenth. That in the recent vetoes by theif 
Federal Governors of the acts of the Legisla- 



tures of Kansas and Nebraska, prohibiting sla- 
very in those Territories, we find a practical 
illustration of the boasted Democratic principle 
of non-intervention and popular sovereignty 
embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and a 
demonstration of the deception and fraud in- 
volved therein. 

Eleventh. That Kansas should of right be 
immediately admitted as a State under the Con- 
stitution recently formed and adopted by her 
people,- and accepted by the House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

Twelfth. That while providing revenue for 
the support of the General Government by du- 
ties upon imports, sound policy requires such 
an adjustment of these imposts as to encourage 
the development of the industrial interest of the 
whole country ; and we commend that policy of 
national exchanges which secures to the work- 
ing men liberal wages, to agriculture remuner- 
ating prices, to mechanics and manufacturers 
an adequate reward for their skill, labor, and 
enterprise, and to the nation commercial pros- 
perity and independence. 

Thirteenth. That we protest against any sale 
or alienation to others of the public lands held 
by actual settlers, and against any view of the 
free homestead policy which regards the settlers 
as paupers or supplicants for public bounty ; and 
we demand the passage by Congress of the com- 
plete and satisfactory homestead measure which 
has already passed the House. 

Fourteenth. That the Republican party is op- 
posed to any change in our naturalization laws, 
or any State legislation by which the rights of 
citizenship hitherto accorded to immigrants 
from foreign lands shall be abridged or im- 
paired ; and in favor of giving a full and effi- 
cient protection to the rights of all classes of 
citizens, whether native or naturalized, both at 
home and abroad. 

Fifteenth. That appropriations by Congress 
for river and harbor improvements of a na- 
tional character, required for the accommo- 
dation and security of an existing commerce, 
are authorized by the Constitution and justified 
by an obligation of the Government to protect 
the lives and property of its citizens. 

Sixteenth. That a railroad to the Pacific 
Ocean is imperatively demanded by the in- 
terests of the whole country ; that the Federal 
Government ought to render immediate and 
efficient aid in its construction ; and that, as pre- 
liminary thereto, a daily overland mail should 
be promptly established. 

Seventeenth. Finally, having thus set forth 
our distinctive principles and views, we invite 
the co-operation of all citizens, however differ- 
ing on other questions, who substantially agree 
with us, in their affirmance and support* 



Published by the Republican Congressional Committee, Price 1$ per hundred. 



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